Google Chat vs Zulip
Google Chat
workspace.google.comZulip
zulip.comSide by side
| Figure | Google Chat | Zulip |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $7/mo | $3.50/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 7 |
| Spec score · Business Instant Messaging - Midmarket Software | 8.7 (#5) | 8.6 (#9) |
| Spec score · Business Instant Messaging - Enterprise Software | 8.6 (#5) | 8.6 (#8) |
| Spec score · Team Communication Software | 8.7 (#6) | 8.6 (#8) |
| Spec score · Team chat apps | 8.6 (#17) | 9.4 (#3) |
| Spec score · Team Collaboration Software | 8.7 (#10) | 8.6 (#12) |
| Channels | Yes | Channels define the audience for conversations and can be public or private. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Guest access | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Gmail,Calendar,Drive,Meet,Google Groups,Asana,Jira,PagerDuty,GitHub,Workday,Salesforce,ServiceNow,Trello,Zapier | Zulip lists more than 130 native integrations and hundreds more through Zapier and IFTTT. |
| Supported platforms | Web,Windows,macOS,Linux,iOS,Android | web,Windows,macOS,Linux,iOS,Android,API |
| Paid from | 7 | 3.5 |
Plans
Google Chat
- Business Starter$7 a month
- Business Standard$14 a month
- Business Plus$22 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
- BasePrice not published
- StarterPrice not published
Zulip
- Cloud FreeFree
- Cloud Standard$6.67 a month
- Cloud Plus$10 a month
- Self-hosted FreeFree
- Self-hosted Basic$3.50 a month
- Self-hosted Business$6.67 a month
- Self-hosted EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Google Chat
Google Chat is a messaging and collaboration service included with Google Workspace at no additional cost. It runs on the web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Persistent collaboration spaces can hold up to 500,000 members, while administrators can set whether message history is on or off by default. Chat connects with Workspace apps including Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Meet, and Google Groups, as well as tools such as Asana, GitHub, Jira, Salesforce, and Trello. Organizations can build custom apps with Chat APIs and Apps Script, and can migrate existing data from Slack or Teams with interoperability solutions available. Gemini in Chat can summarize conversations, share action items, translate, and brainstorm. Google Workspace offers a 14-day free trial. Business Starter costs $7 a month on an annual commitment, billed monthly for a yearly term, and supports up to 300 users. Workspace subscriptions include other apps such as Gmail, Meet, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and Sites.
Zulip
Zulip is team chat software that organizes conversations in channels and supports guest access. It runs on the web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, and also supports an API. Listed integrations include GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Calendar, Zoom, Jitsi Meet, Zapier, IFTTT, Sentry, and Zendesk. Zulip offers cloud and self-hosted plans. Cloud Free costs nothing and includes 10,000 messages of search history and 5 GB total file storage. Cloud Standard is $6.67 a month, billed annually, with 5 GB file storage per user. Self-hosted Basic is $3.50 a month, billed monthly. Other options include Cloud Plus, Self-hosted Free, Self-hosted Business, and Self-hosted Enterprise. Cloud Plus and Self-hosted Business have minimum user counts of 10 and 25, respectively. Zulip was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.